Game changers

For me, 2013 didn’t go out with a bang; it went out with a cough and a wheeze and a snore. After a year-end barrage of long workdays, a persistent chest bug sent me to bed around 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and I didn’t stir till late the next morning. It was just as well; I was perfectly happy to be done with a year that had brought more than its share of challenges.

But don’t get me wrong—not everything was dire in 2013. Even in the midst of all the stress and difficulties, a number of new developments (dare I say, game-changers?) emerged that give me some hope for 2014 and the years ahead.

Pope Francis: The moment that I saw that the new pope had chosen the name “Francis,” I broke out in an ear-to-ear grin. It was very clear what implications such a choice was meant to convey. For decades, the Catholic faithful were kept focused primarily on the hot-button sexual issues of homosexuality and abortion, to the detriment of the Church’s powerful (and equally unambivalent) teachings about economic and social justice. (I am convinced that this was no accident, by the way; it has well suited certain interests to have the gaze of the faithful steered away from the seamier aspects of modern capitalism, which frankly cannot withstand a great deal of moral scrutiny.) Pope Francis’ ascension, and his call for a reappraisal of the Church’s priorities in the face of current economic realities, have shattered some very cozy arrangements in the halls of Vatican power. At the same time, he reminds us all that power and influence can be wielded effectively while maintaining an attitude of service and humility, indeed that such an attitude can be powerful in and of itself.

Malala Yousafzai: In the course of less than a year, the young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai rebounded from being the victim of a point-blank assassination attempt to eldering the president of the United States about the American use of drones in her country. In attempting to get rid of her, the Taliban instead created a potent counterforce to their brand of Islamic fundamentalism, one far more powerful than a dozen NATO brigades. Hopefully, she will also prove to be more powerful than the Western machinery of celebrity, or the political machinations of those who might try to exploit her image.